SunEdison, a worldwide solar energy services provider and subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., announced the activation of a 25 Megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant located within a multi-developer, multi-facility solar park at Charanka village in Patan district, Gujarat, India. The project, which was completed in four months, is comprised of more than 89,000 solar PV modules. With the completion of this plant, SunEdison has now activated a total of 45MW as part of the Gujarat Solar Program.
The 25MW solar power plant, which is expected to be inaugurated by the Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, on April 19, 2012, is expected to produce more than 40 million kilowatt hours of clean solar energy in the first year of operation alone.
Commenting on the activation of the solar plant, Pashupathy Gopalan, Managing Director, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Operations, SunEdison said, “SunEdison takes pride in being an active contributor to the largest solar power producing state in India. Owing to the state’s progressive solar policies, we are confident we can help make Gujarat the national solar hub for India.”
Setting a benchmark for solar project developments in India, the multi-facility solar park is currently home to approximately 200 MW of solar power generation capacity. Spread over 1,000 acres, the solar park was established as a part of the state government’s new solar policy and is touted by the Gujarat government as the first-ever project in Asia to address the problems of climate change.
Providing multiple benefits for the local populace and region, solar parks are becoming instrumental in harnessing solar energy in India.
Due to statutory ownership requirements in India, SunEdison intends to continue to own a portion of this 25MW project, and accordingly the project is intended to be held for at least the statutory period and will be consolidated on MEMC’s balance sheet during this time.